Ian Somerhalder tesfies before Congress about endangered species

WASHINGTON, June 24 (UPI) --Ian Somerhalder flew to Washington D.C. Tuesday to testify before Congress in the name of endangered animal species.

The 35-year-old Vampire Diaries star spoke in front of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs during a hearing that looked to ban trade in elephant ivory."

The actor, who was recently named a United Nations Goodwill ambassador for Environmental Programs, documented his trip to the U.S. capital on social media.

"My Congressional Testimony will be tomorrow between 2-4:30 EST.Ill find a way to tune in hopefully.Its important.To us all-I promise;)" he tweeted Monday.

"Walking in to testify!" Somerhalder captioned a photo shared on Instagram before the hearing. "Let's make this happen! Elephants, Rhinos and the African people the American People are with you! From Washington with love!"

During his testimony, the actor spoke of the need to double "efforts to protect rapidly declining population of African elephants."

Somerhalder's testimony is just part of the actor's efforts to protect the environment. The Rules of Attraction star is also the president of the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, which "aims to empower, educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures."

United Press International is a leading provider of news, photos and information to millions of readers around the globe via UPI.com and its licensing services.

With a history of reliable reporting dating back to 1907, today's UPI is a credible source for the most important stories of the day, continually updated - a one-stop site for U.S. and world news, as well as entertainment, trends, science, health and stunning photography. UPI also provides insightful reports on key topics of geopolitical importance, including energy and security.

A Spanish version of the site reaches millions of readers in Latin America and beyond.

UPI was founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps as the United Press (UP). It became known as UPI after a merger with the International News Service in 1958, which was founded in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst. Today, UPI is owned by News World Communications.